Russia is expanding the recruitment of residents of the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories into military structures through contracts, recruitment and military training in schools. Among the main tools is the volunteer battalion “BARS“, presented to the local population as a mobilization reserve and a formation for the defense of their hometown.
According to the Center for the Study of the Occupation, since September the occupation authorities have been intensively advertising admission to “BARS“ in the occupied parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Kherson regions, as well as in Crimea. Officially, the formation is supposed to guard important objects and act as mobile fire groups against Ukrainian drones.
However, the announced conditions include rewards for destroyed equipment and a separate recruitment of unmanned systems specialists. “The proposed payments, rewards for destroyed equipment and a separate requirement for unmanned systems specialists directly point to attracting reservists to perform combat missions“, the Center for the Study of the Occupation states.
Contracts for up to 344,000 rubles
In the Zaporozhye region, recruitment is carried out with the participation of a personnel center controlled by the occupation authorities. Contracts are drawn up through the military commissariats in Melitopol for a period of 6, 8 or 12 months. The announced payments range from 209,000 to 344,000 rubles, depending on the position.
In Donetsk and Kherson regions, local occupation administrations present “BARS“ as an opportunity for service within the region. For men of draft age, the formation is also offered as an alternative to regular military service. Alexei Kulemzin, presented as the head of the Donetsk occupation administration, advertises the opportunity as service “without sending to the front line“. In October, he published six similar appeals.
In parallel, the system of year-round Russian conscription introduced in 2026, which is also applied in the occupied Ukrainian territories, continues to operate. According to the Center for the Study of the Occupation, military records, electronic drafts, and draft boards provide the administrative basis for the inclusion of local residents in the Russian army.
An anonymous source for OBOZ.UA from the occupied territories claims that despite promises that conscripts will not be sent to the front, they are pressured to sign contracts soon after the start of their service. “The contract worker is sent into battle very quickly. The Russian army needs to make up for its heavy losses,“ the source says. He also describes pressure, including beatings and threats against relatives of conscripts. These allegations have not been independently confirmed.
Military training still in school
The occupation authorities are also expanding cadet programs in schools. On October 16, they reported the swearing-in of graduates of cadet classes in five schools in Mariupol. The training includes enhanced military, tactical and physical training, and some classes are connected to structures of the Investigative Committee of Russia.
At school No. 15 in occupied Melitopol, the cadet classes are under the supervision of the Rosgvardia. Students are trained in tactics, engineering, medical, fire and tactical training, military communications, topography and radiation, chemical and biological protection. The program also includes technical and military-medical training.
According to the Center for the Study of the Occupation, the children also participate in propaganda events and campaigns to collect “humanitarian aid“ for Russian servicemen. A resident of Melitopol, who previously worked as a teacher, describes the process as an increasingly intensive ideological processing of the students.
“It seems like they are ready to put epaulets even on children in diapers. "More and more time is being spent on military training in schools. We are losing these children," the woman says.The Center for the Study of the Occupation claims that by combining military training in schools, conscription and contract formations, Russia is building a permanent mechanism for recruiting military resources in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Sources: war.obozrevatel.com